«Bourgeois muddle»: why Soviet censorship banned Korney Chukovsky's «The Fly»

One of the most popular children's poems, which every child today knows by heart, was suspected by Soviet officials and educators at the moment of its birth. Korney Chukovsky's «The Fly» written in 1923 did not simply reach the reader quickly — it was officially banned by censorship and subjected to devastating criticism from the highest authorities. Why did such an innocent story about a fly finding money and throwing a party provoke such anger in the party circles? And how did this little masterpiece survive in the face of ideological pressure?

First publication and immediate scandal

In 1923, Korney Chukovsky first read his new story to friends and acquaintances. The audience was delighted: rhythmic lines, vivid images, catchy rhymes — it seemed that this was the perfect reading for babies. However, the first attempt to publish «The Fly» encountered an insurmountable obstacle. The Provincial Department of Literature and Publishing (Gublit), which performed the functions of censorship, categorically refused to give permission for publication. In Chukovsky's diary, there is a record of a conversation with a Gublit employee, Lyudmila Bystraya, who explained to the writer that the illustrations to the story were «improper»: the mosquito is standing too close to the fly, they «flirt». «As if there is a child so corrupt that the proximity of the fly to the mosquito would provoke licentious thoughts,» Chukovsky wrote with bitterness. But this was just the beginning.

In 1924, the story was finally published — but under the changed name «Mushina Wedding» and with cuts. However, this version did not give peace to the ideological guardians either. The real campaign against «The Fly» was launched later, and it involved not only ordinary censors, but also the most influential figures in Soviet pedagogy and politics.

The attack of Kryukovskaya: «chukovskina» as an ideological enemy

The main accuser of Korney Chukovsky was Nadezhda Konstantinovna Kryukovskaya, the widow of Lenin. She was not just the wife of the leader — she stood at the origins of the Soviet system of national education and upbringing. And her opinion on children's books had great weight. Kryukovskaya descended on Chukovsky with sharp criticism, calling his stories «nonsense» and «disrespect for the child.» She claimed that Chukovsky's works were not only useless, but also harmful because they «do not reflect Soviet life.»

Even a special term emerged among party critics and editors — «chukovskina.» This word denoted all the writer's creativity that was considered alien to the proletarian ideology. Kryukovskaya and her allies blamed Chukovsky that «The Fly» «undermines children's faith in the triumph of the collective,» it expresses «sympathy for kulak ideology,» it praises «petty bourgeois-ness and kulak accumulation.» It seems that where can you find kulaks in a children's story about a fly and a mosquito? However, Soviet educators were able to read between the lines even what was never there.

«Bourgeois» birthdays and suspicious weddings

One of the most absurd points of the accusation was the word «birthday.» The deputy head of Gublit, Lyudmila Bystraya, explained to Chukovsky that birthdays were a «bourgeois festival.» In the new Soviet society, where the church was separated from the state, and old traditions were declared relics of the past, any mention of birthdays was perceived as an attempt to «keep the dying and outdated forms of life on the surface.» Birthdays are not just a birthday, but a festival associated with the Orthodox calendar, with the name of a saint. Therefore, everything related to them automatically fell under suspicion.

However, the critics went further. The birthdays in «The Fly» end with a wedding — and this also caused a fierce reaction. «Literary newspaper» saw in the happy wedding of the mosquito and the mosquito «idealization of pettiness.» One of the critics wrote: «What do these verses say? About the power of money.» Indeed, the story begins with the fly finding money and going to the market — so, according to the ideologists, the story teaches children «kulak accumulation» and praises private property. In a country where communism was being built, this was unpardonable.

Collective letter from the Kremlin kindergarten

The culmination of the persecution was a collective letter published in 1929 in the magazine «Preschool Education.» It was signed by «parents of children in the Kremlin kindergarten.» These were not ordinary people — they represented the elite of Soviet society, and their voice was extremely significant. In the letter, they called for «fighting against chukovskina» and stated that all Chukovsky's stories were not only bad, but also harmful to children. They accused the author of developing superstition and fears, praising pettiness and kulak accumulation, giving incorrect ideas about the world of animals and insects.

For Chukovsky, this was a terrible blow. In his diary, he wrote: «So, my «Crocodile» is banned, «The Fly» is banned, «The Ant» will be banned tomorrow.» One after another, his works fell under the censorial pressure, even «Barmaley» and «Aibolit.»

Political undertone: mosquito, fly and suspicious hints

A special piquancy was added to the situation by the fact that the censors saw a political subtext in the characters of the story. According to Bystraya, Komarik is a «disguised prince,» and the mosquito is a «princess.» And this already sounded like anti-Soviet propaganda: princes and princesses are symbols of monarchy, the old world that was destroyed by the revolution. It turned out that Chukovsky, without wanting to, propagates «bourgeois» values and idealizes the old order.

An anecdote was circulating among the people about how Chukovsky tried to publish «The Fly» by coming to each of the leaders for approval. Lenin stopped him: «In the Soviet Union, a fly cannot go to the market!; Stalin was upset that money was lying around on the collective farm field; and Andropov interrupted without even letting him read the first line: «What about the Central Committee?！」 This anecdote, like any sharp folk creation, accurately reflected the absurdity of Soviet censorship, capable of seeing counter-revolution even in an innocent children's story.

«The Fly» survives and becomes a classic

Despite all the bans and persecution, «The Fly» survived. In 1927, the story was published under its current name. Later, with the easing of censorship pressure in the 1960s, it was printed in mass editions and entered the golden fund of children's literature. Today it is hard to imagine that this cheerful, mischievous, musical tale was considered «bourgeois muddle» and an instrument of the ideological enemy.

The history of «The Fly» is the story of how literature can withstand the pressure of the system, even when it seems that all doors are closed. Chukovsky did not rewrite his stories to please the censorship, did not cross out «suspicious» beetles and did not replace «birthdays» with «birthdays.» He simply continued to write — for children, for eternity, for those who can hear not politics, but joy, fantasy and kindness in poetry. And today, when we read to children about the fly-who-squeaks and her brave savior mosquito, we even do not suspect that this little book had to go through hell to get into our hands.

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